Progress of leukoaraiosis is inhibited by correction of platelet hyper-aggregability

Background: Platelet hyper-aggregability is an important risk factor for leukoaraiosis. In this study we investigated whether aggravation of leukoaraiosis can be controlled by means of long-term correction of platelet hyper-aggregability. Methods: Twenty-one patients with leukoaraiosis and uncorrected platelet hyper-aggregability were compared with 21 controls matched for age, grade of leukoaraiosis and observation period, whose platelet hyper-aggregability was corrected. Platelet aggregability was estimated by an optical analytical method with a nine-stage display using two different concentrations each of adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and collagen (the double ADP method). Results: The mean observation period between two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans for both groups was 4.1 years. In the non-corrected group, moderate to severe aggravation of leukoaraiosis was observed in a large number of patients. In the corrected group, only a small number of patients showed generally mild aggravation of leukoaraiosis. The number of patients showing aggravation of periventricular hyperintensity (PVH) was 7 in 21 in the noncorrected group versus 1 in 21 (p = 0.022) in the corrected group, and for aggravation of deep white-matter hyperintensity these values were 9 in 21 versus 4 in 21, respectively. Thus, the difference was more significant if the degree of aggravation was taken into account. Conclusion: The progress of leukoaraiosis is greatly inhibited by long-term correction of platelet hyper-aggregability.